David Kelmans' BBQ Marinade's

The Potting Shed

We really wanted to go back to The Potting Shed after we popped in for a quick gin, from possibly the largest gin menu I have ever seen! It was December and we had come to Crudwell for a friend’s wedding and we left in plenty of time to visit this beautiful little pub that we had seen and loved on Instagram.  The food smelt amazing and the cosy “snug” area was very appealing on a cold and drizzly day, complete with large sofas and a generous collection of board games. So, during the February half term James and I found ourselves with a day off together, perfect timing to head back to Crudwell and book into the main “shed” area of the pub.

The Porch House

Totally ashamed to say after living just around the corner from Stow-on-the-Wold for 15 years I had no idea we were in the midst of England's oldest Inn! C947AD no less! Although brought into the 21st century now, the charm and history of The Porch House, still remains a constant reminder of the Inn past. Beautiful checked and leather dining chairs, roaring fires, etchings on the fireplace to ward off evil spirits, rustic antler chandeliers and dinner by candle light. Quirky rooms that flow effortlessly, despite one being a grand dining room, another being a conservatory, laid back bar and private dining parlour, making use out of a space that used to be two buildings.

Photos by Stef

Well, James wasn't keen and I have to admit I was feeling a bit nervous. But for two people that resemble Chandler Bing of FRIENDS fame every time we have photos taken (you may have noticed our healthy friends obsession by now) we thought it would be good practice for our wedding photos. Also it was a great excuse to take my new straight teeth for a test drive!

So we headed out on a frosty and windy (get a load of James's hair in the last photo!) Saturday morning to a farm just outside of Chipping Campden. The night before Stef told us to bring props, to which we started racking our brains on what we could take. Our favourite thing to do is to spend time with friends and family and we figured we couldn't really take them as props on our engagement shoot! The next on our list was food! Good, yummy, local food. But again photos of us stuffing our faces probably wouldn't be one for the wall! We decided we would don our comfy walking clothes and get all country, seeing as we were going to a farm and it was a cold Cotswold morning. We were really pleased with this decision.

We walked around the farm acting as natural as possible! It does help that we spend most of our time together laughing. Stef pointed out some cracking places to have photos taken (even though we didn't realise what she was doing at the time, for example the sun shot!) we especially love the industrial look of the barn door. 

Stef brought a slate and chalk to do some fun written messages to each other. We clearly left our creativity at the door when she asked us to write something on it. All we could think of were innapriorate or offensive messages to each other, so Stef suggested our pet names. Cue major cringe... chicken and Bear. My brother-in-law on seeing the photos said at first he thought that we had written a Ludicrus album title on the slate 'Chicken and Beer', James wished we had been that cool! Nope, just our super cringe pet names. It didn't matter though because it actually turned out to be one of our favourite photos. 

You may have seen Stef's own blog on Our engagement shoot here. She mentions the unexpected...she's right there. Here are the things we didn't expect:

~We didn't expect to enjoy it

~We didn't expect for the photos to be so wonderful ( and that's not a reflection on Stef but ourselves)

~ we didn't expect to find as many wonderful places to have photos taken at this old farm and renovated barn

And most of all...

~We didn't expect to find a new friend. 

We love Stef and how she manages to inject personality and intimate moments into photos, whilst retaining her style. Whether it is a wedding photo, a picture she takes on her camera phone, photos of her holidays or a photo shoot for Cotswold Style Magazine, you can tell it is a Stefanie Calleja-Gera photo. Seriously iconic. 

Stef says: 

'A really great way to get to know your photographer is a pre-wedding shoot - not only does it really help to calm any camera-shy nerves, it also gives me a brilliant insight to what you’re all about as a couple, so that I can reflect a little piece of your personal style through the images I create; be it free-spirited and fun-loving or refined and elegant, whatever the weather, I’ll beat to your drum.'

We would completely recommend a pre wedding photo shoot. We feel really calm about having obits taken on the big day but we also know we have chosen the right photographer for us. These photos will be around forever, so they gave to be right! No pressure Stef.

We can't wait to spend some more time with you Stef, and we have total faith that our Wedding photo's will be keepers! 

Stef has also worked with Meg, taking professional photos of Meggie's. The website is coming soon! 

Millie and Meg xxx (and James!) 

A Sunday well spent...

  

Sunday... Our favourite kind of day! Particularly when you throw friends, food and laughing into the mix. After a heavy night for both of us on Saturday, starting Sunday off with a big brunch at Hotel No.131 was nothing less than perfect! (Blog on No.131 to follow.) Luckily for us it was the Birthday weekend of our bestie Soph and she did a cracking job of organising a day for us all to get together. So we threw our perfect Sunday ingredients into a big pot and spent the whole day together...After all, a Sunday well spent is a week of content...although some would say that's debatable (currently writing this after a rather horrid Monday)! 

After a scrummy brekkie us girlies let the gents go home for the dogs whilst we went to try on and choose Bridesmaids dresses in Cheltenham. We found them and they are perfect! Can't believe they aren't coming out again until OCTOBER!  

We headed back home for endless pots of tea and chatter and then donned our wellies for a lovely Cotswold walk to burn of the breakfast. Although a flask of coffee and the Huffkins Cakes We took with us piled the calories back on, (two wise women once told us calories don't count at weekends! @photosbystef @ss_flowers) 

Back to Millie's for more tea, a toasty fire and a film, before deciding a Chinese might be a good idea. Chinese is always a good idea, no? So the boys had the job of laying the table and we popped into Bourton On The Water to our fave take away China Town the 20 min waiting time gave us a good excuse to have a quick drink at the Kingsbridge.  

 Candles lit, fire still roaring and Sunday night films on the sofa to finish off the weekend. Day's like these make the hard week of work so worth while! 

What makes your perfect Sunday?

Millie and Meg x

Love Hair, Love your eyebrows!

Yet again I am paying Love Hair another visit. Meg found this fabulous hair and beauty salon in Broadway and raved about it, see the blog here.  Since then I have booked my wedding hair and played model for their make-up photo shoot with the wonderful Stefanie from Photography By Stefanie. Today I was booked in with Natalie to have my eyebrows tinted. I have only recently, perhaps 4-5monrhs or so, started doing anything with my eyebrows bar waxing! I love playing around with pencils, powders and brushes to change the shape of my brows. But they take time and can easily go wrong leaving you with a smudgy mess and 2 minutes to wipe it off before leaving for work. Nightmare!

So Natalie suggested having them tinted saying a shape and colour would last 2-3 weeks, save you time and prevent any smudgey stress! 

 

 

I love going in to see Natalie. She's a very calm and gentle character but a true professional. She's also super talented at what she does. Aside from that I've felt part of the Love Hair culture since visit number 1 and love spending time and having treatments with any of the girls. 

 

 

Natalie used RefectoCil products to tint my eyebrows along with techniques to ensure they were perfectly even and complimentary to my face shape. She lined the brush up from my nose to the edgeof my eyes to measure exactly where my eyebrows should end. Once she had popped on and then removed the tinting solution she shaped my eyebrows. This was done afterwards to give the solution as much hair as possible to cling to.

 

 

Et voila! Before and after. A really big difference, at the same time as a subtle change in colour... Is that even possible?! I'm not sure, but I know that they look good. I also find they are taking far less time to look after when applying make-up and any time savers are a must in my book!  

 

 

I wrote this blog 4 days ago and had my eyebrows done a week ago now. They are still looking good and I'm totally sold. I've decided having them tinted is as essential as plucking my unruly brows. So I'm booking in for regular monthly top ups next year ( by the way it's only £10!!!) making it the easiest New Years resolution of all time! Also just to make life that little bit kinder on the purse, Love Hair also have a loyalty card for money off treatments (see first pic). What more could you want?!

Halloween in the Cotswolds

'Trick' Or 'Treat'

Last week at 7pm, on a dark and dank evening, I put on my wellies and my warmest coat and ventured to Over Farm. I was on my way to the South Wests' largest Halloween festival, 'FrightMare' which for someone who easily scares, was brave! 

I had visited Over Farm before, for a walk around the farm and a rummage in their market shop, but never had I seen it looking like this. The farm had been transformed into a Halloween extravaganza, with more homegrown pumpkins than you have ever seen. But this wasn't a friendly affair, and you soon realised when beyond the pumpkins appeared the sadistic clowns, the zombies and the frightened faces. 

Coffee With Lynda #3| New England Coffee House

Thursday 19^th  September 2014

Stow- on-the-Wold

New England Coffee House

This week we headed for Stow-on-the-Wold, our colourful nails had lasted the week out, unlike us, we were ready for our weekly coffee treat and maybe even a cake.

Stow has an abundance of coffee shops, most are good, some are excellent, so it’s difficult to make a choice, we thought we would try The New England Coffee House and it certainly has to be one of the best.

Set over four floors (I hope I counted correctly!) each floor has a characterful  and comfy lounge in which to sip your smooth, silky, freshly ground–and–roasted–on-the–premises coffee and nibble on a tasty sweet treat, there were plenty to choose from, Lynda had cake and I had a croissant, both delicious. All in all, a lovely, not so little, place for a catch up; with interesting interiors to feast your eyes on and tasteful background music. The lounges are charming and homely and each floor has its own character.

  

  

The coffee house has a really welcoming atmosphere, created by owners Alison and Dave Cunliffe who took over the New England Coffee House in Stow-on-the-Wold in Spring 2010. We spent a relaxing hour, but certainly could have lingered longer, and can see this lovely find fast becoming a favourite for a wonderful coffee or a tea and of course, cake!

Visit their website: Newenglandcoffeehouse.co.uk